Chuck Schuldiner Project

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Dysentery, Captain Frapat, and Polarys in Paris

Wednesday night, that's as good a night to go to a show as any! So I rolled on out of my apartment and down to an interesting little venue called Palais Porte Maillot which was actually built into the famous Palais de Congres. I got to check out three bands, two belonging to friends of mine, and it made for a memorable soiree, with music that ran the gamut from brutal death metal, to hard rock, and then ultimately, to corny power metal of the sort that everyone secretly loves. In other words, it was one of those nights that invoked the spirit of the underground.

Dysentery were the first group to play and I had been looking forward to seeing them for a long time. Through their muddy riffs and distortion laden chugs, I started to find the sort of pure anarchic death metal that made me fall in love with the genre. In all honesty, it reminded me a bit of early Master and other such primitive, primal death metal bands. Dysentery are an inexperienced live band, but by the end of their set people were bopping around, heads banging to the nihilistic rhythms of their one guitar attack. These guys grasp the spirit of pure gore metal and want to annihilate your soul as you fall into the sort of grinding crush that makes this sort of music so sublime.

Captain Frapat were up next, this is the sort of hard rock filled with tasty riffs and chunky vocals that no man can hate. Their set was high powered and fun, this three piece really know how to deliver. One notable aspect of the bands sound is their two vocalist approach. While their is definitely a dominating singer (Who also plays guitar) the drummer contributes on a lot of vocals and gives the tracks a very unique texture. Asides from being memorable because, hey, not a lot of bands have drummers who sing, they really did a good job of blending the distinct vocal styles into something fresh and exciting. It left the crowd buzzing for more after a solid forty minute set.

Finally we got to Polarys who plaid their entire opus, The Va'Aidan Chronicles to a fun video backing that ranged from a powerpoint showing pictures of the band, to exciting CGI images filled with lava and icy landscapes. These guys really know how to deliver, and the bands singer Douchan has the voice of a god, he really brings it, even when playing essentially on his own. As a side note, I think it's awesome that the bands gifted and bombastic keyboard player is called Fabio, it simply adds to the 'power metalness' of what could very well be the Paris's tightest power metal act. Filled with fabulous solos and fun riffs, Polarys brought their A-Game and left the crowd happy.

In conclusion, this was a fun night, and even the school friend I brought to the show (Yes, a normal person!) was shocked at how tight some of the bands were. Dysentery in particular have a sort of very graphic appeal, getting to the 15 year old boy within all of us. Captain Frapat simply reminded me why I love rock music with a simple, yet very appealing set. Finally, Polarys, being the first power metal band I've seen in a long time, helped to get me once more invested in the genre, proving that power metal, and by extension, heavy metal, will never die.